北山錄 8.2.1

8.2.1

The Enlightened Sovereign possesses the power of the knowledge of karma (The Buddha has untainted pure karma, the eight consciousnesses, the four wisdoms, and so forth. Furthermore, in the approach of manifesting marks, there are nine karmic retributions: first, the female brahmin Sundarī slandering the Buddha; second, the female Ciñcā tying a wooden bowl to slander the Buddha as having impregnated her; third, Devadatta pushing down a mountain to crush the Buddha; fourth, a splinter of wood stabbing the Buddha's foot; fifth, King Virūḍhaka slaughtering the Śākya clan and the Buddha also suffering a headache; sixth, accepting the invitation of the brahmin Agnidatta where the Buddha ate horse oats for ninety days; seventh, cold winds agitating the Buddha's back pain and entering into six years of asceticism; [eighth, ...]; ninth, entering a brahmin village to beg for food and returning with an empty bowl. Also, for eight days and nights around the winter solstice, feeling cold and asking for clothes; and suffering from heat and ordering Ānanda to stand behind and hold a fan, and so forth). Alas, living beings differ in appearance, vary in voice, experience misery or joy, are foolish or wise, noble or base, long-lived or short-lived. Therefore, he greatly illuminated the principle of karma in order to dispel human delusions (This truly stems from giving rise to diverse views, creating diverse karma, and receiving diverse retributions). Lesser sages cannot reach it, how much less those who are not sages! Yet there are deceitful and resentful people (Zhourzhang means deceitful. Fenzhi means angry) who presume themselves to possess the insight of having attained the One, claiming, "No one is my equal; this is what is called destiny! It does not stem from karma" (There is a class of perverse individuals who do not believe in karmic retribution and all claim it is heavenly destiny). The Rites say: "What Heaven ordains is called human nature. Obtaining it comes naturally; not obtaining it comes naturally, according with heavenly destiny" (Outer scriptures refer to karma as heavenly destiny. Confucius said: "It is destiny!" Indeed, the nature and destiny of longevity or brevity are all naturally determined by Heaven). Zhongni said: "If the Dao is to prevail, it is destiny; if the Dao is to fall into disuse, it is destiny. What can Gongbo Liao do against destiny?" (Gongbo Liao was a man of Lu who slandered Zhongni to Shusun Wushu, hence the Master spoke these words). Zixia said: "Life and death have their destiny; wealth and honor reside with Heaven" (Life and death are collective retributive karma; wealth and honor are particular retributive karma). Duke Ping of Lu wished to see Mencius (Duke Ping of Lu was about to see Meng Ke because of his virtue and worthiness); his favorite, Zang Cang, slandered Mencius to the Duke, and so he stopped. When Mencius heard this, he said: "It is Heaven!" (Mencius said: "That the ruler did not see me is naturally because heavenly destiny had not yet converged; it was not that Zang Cang was able to prevent it"). From this, we know that because it stems from karma, it is not so (They take karmic conditions to be heavenly destiny). Moreover, the benevolent overcome themselves, while the unbenevolent harm others. The benevolent are in greater peril than a stack of chess pieces, while the unbenevolent are more secure than an overturned bowl (Accumulating good brings misfortune and blame, like the comrades of Bi Gan; doing evil brings success and harmony, like the likes of Cao Cao). Signs of fortune and misfortune are missing, right before our eyes and ears. Thus, the sagely virtue of Tang and Yu was confined to their own single persons (Extending goodness and transmitting the sagely: it is said Yao ended it because Danzhu was unworthy; benevolence and sageliness were flourishing and bright: it is said Shun ended it because Shangjun could not carry on the succession). Li and You were dark and licentious, yet their reign lasted seven hundred years (Cruel and unloving is called Li; obstructive and blocked is called You; both were kings of the Zhou. Though benighted, they still prolonged it for several reigns). The Three Huan clans encroached and usurped, holding the government of Lu for generations (Jisun was the upper minister, Shusun was the middle minister, and Mengsun was the lower minister). Yiwu rectified and assisted, but his lineage was cut off in the annals of Qi (Yiwu was Guan Zhong of Qi; he aided Duke Huan in uniting the feudal lords nine times and honoring the royal house, yet in Qi his voice left no descendants). The Sao poet composed "Heavenly Questions" (Qu Yuan was the Grand Master of the Three Royal Clans; he composed the Lisao Jing, hence he is called the Sao poet who had the "Heavenly Questions"); Ban Gu wrote the rhapsody "Penetrating the Obscure" (Ban Gu, styled Mengjian, composed the Rhapsody on Penetrating the Obscure, lamenting that the worthy and good were not employed; both are in the Wenxuan); Li Xiaoyuan inferred fortune and destiny—was it not on account of this? (Li Xiaoyuan had the Treatise on Fortune and Destiny). Therefore, among the gates of the Golden Immortal, who can distinguish this? From this, the multitude of discourses follow one after another, as if demons and wraiths were possessing their tongues (Earlier deceitful scholars narrated this, all stating it was destiny and not karma; later people accepted and believed it, like shamans transmitting demons and wraiths). If a gentleman or great person hears it, it is still like the dropping of the shuttle (Zeng Shen's mother was weaving. Someone told her Shen had killed a person. At first, the mother did not believe it. When told a second time, the mother doubted. When told a third time, the mother threw down the shuttle and ran. Because of Shen's benevolence and filiality, the reporters did not exceed three, and even his mother believed it. Now, with these unorthodox words, when transmitters do not exceed three, even enlightened men and gentlemen must come to believe them, how much more so the rest!). At that time, a scholar baring his right shoulder looked saddened and displeased; stepping forward with shoes and sharpening his blade, he was about to sever their doubts (At that time, there was a Śākya disciple baring his shoulder who thoroughly understood the principle of karma; seeing their confusion and error, he sharpened the blade of wisdom, about to resolve the net of their doubts). He said: If you speak of destiny and do not speak of karma, your obstruction is firm (Obstruction means obstinacy). Now, karma arises from movement and action (Movement and action refers to initiating deeds); action has conformity and opposition (Goodness conforms with goodness; evil opposes goodness); they consummate into good and bad (Meritorious karma is good; unmeritorious is bad). Good and bad are concentrated in retribution and dispensation (Charity and precepts correspond to good; killing and stealing converge in evil). Only thereafter are nature, destiny, failure, and success born from them (Apart from collective retribution, there are failure and success, poverty and wealth, long life and short, cleverness and dullness, uprightness and ugliness; all are named particular retributive karma). However, the karma of opportune workings has degrees of lightness and heaviness, and the retribution of nature and destiny has occurrence in the present or the future (Karma experienced in the present life is called present and heavy; karma experienced in the next life or subsequent lives is called future and light). If indeed it does not rely on karma and receiving destiny belongs solely to Heaven, then why would the Heavenly Dao confer destiny without equalizing its generosity and meagerness? (If all people are determined by heavenly destiny, why is its way not equal?). If indeed karma were only movement and action and could not summon destiny, then how could sacrifice bring blessing, or brutality bring injury? (Now, taking past actions that determinately summon retribution is named karma; good and evil actualized in the present is named destiny. If there were only karma, then conforming to past conditions, the actualization would have no alteration; how could one see in the present that those who sacrifice obtain blessings and the violent suffer misfortune? These are not what past karma has summoned; sacrifices are merely unseen assistance, and the violent also face particular retributions experienced in the present). The Odes say: 'Dense is the creeping kudzuvine, spreading over the branches and boughs. Joyful and courteous is the gentleman, seeking blessing without deviance.' Why was this statement made? (This is the final stanza of 'Hanlu' in the Daya of the Odes. Han is the name of a mountain; lu means its foot. It takes not violating the ancestors' way of seeking blessing; hui means violating). However, the karma of past lifetimes has the determinate and indeterminate, and the present lifetime's nature and destiny it influences has the changeable and unchangeable (Karma has determinate and indeterminate in terms of time and retribution; nature and destiny have the changeable and unchangeable).